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Senior Bowl is today. Anyone planning to watch? My eye is on the trenches, which is where I see our picks going, especially on O, but possibly to replace Sheldon if he marches. Barr replacement is possible too; Ben Banogu played DE for TCU, but is projected as an OLB. He was a beast this season. I'll be interested to see how he performs as a LB.

I don't see a guy like Udoh being an immediate starter or even ending up as an OT in the pros, but I think he could develop into a solid guard. From what was written on the walterfootball site, he earned an invite to the Senior Bowl, but I don't know how he did there. I assume his Combine results will be a big factor in how early he goes, but a guy like this could be a steal in the later rounds of the draft.

Most mocks have the Vikings taking any of a number of offensive lineman at #18. It makes sense, at least on the surface. The offensive line largely sucked last year, so the gut reaction is to use that first pick to shore up the unit.

A couple of things bother me about that approach, however. First, I see very little consensus in the various 2019 mocks about which offensive line players make sense at #18. I see mocks showing the Vikings taking Dalton Risner, Greg Little, Jonah Williams or Cody Ford. It's almost a tacit acknowledgment that this offensive line class is incredibly flat. There are a lot of guys that can play, but very little separates them, and to add to that, the various evaluators I've read can have the same guy going anywhere from round 4 to round 1.

Second, I could see a scenario where a talented guy like Ed Oliver falls due to concerns about his measurables. Oliver plays DT, which is a position the Vikings also need to address this offseason, either through bringing a guy like Sheldon Richardson back, or possibly in the draft. If you read Oliver's write up on WalterFootball http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2019DT.php, you will see why a guy like that could easily fall into the Vikings lap at #18. But watch his highlights on Youtube and you see a wrecking ball. This is a guy who has the potential to become an impact player on the inside along the lines of a John Randle. He simply gets after it and is very hard for offensive linemen to control. The WalterFootball evaluation mentions Warren Sapp as well. You can see this guy could become that kind of player.

Now, if the choice at #18 is between an offensive lineman who doesn't really stand out from other guys at the position, and a guy like Oliver that might become a regular pro bowler on the interior of the defensive line, can Spielman afford to pass on Oliver?

I know the gut reactions of a lot of fans that don't follow the draft closely would probably be outrage if Spielman passed on an OL, especially one like Ford who a lot of fans (myself included) like, but man, if Oliver is there at #18 and Spielman didn't take him, I could easily see him kicking himself for that decision for years.

The other thing that gives me some comfort is that because this OL class is pretty flat, it seems likely there would still be some very solid options on the board when the 2nd round pick comes along. That worked out for Spielman last year with O'Neil, and maybe we'll see something similar to that happen this year as well, with the Vikings taking an obvious BPA defensive player in the 1st, and then taking a solid OL prospect in the 2nd that they can then work into the starting lineup quickly.

Most mocks have the Vikings taking any of a number of offensive lineman at #18. It makes sense, at least on the surface. The offensive line largely sucked last year, so the gut reaction is to use that first pick to shore up the unit.

A couple of things bother me about that approach, however. First, I see very little consensus in the various 2019 mocks about which offensive line players make sense at #18. I see mocks showing the Vikings taking Dalton Risner, Greg Little, Jonah Williams or Cody Ford. It's almost a tacit acknowledgment that this offensive line class is incredibly flat. There are a lot of guys that can play, but very little separates them, and to add to that, the various evaluators I've read can have the same guy going anywhere from round 4 to round 1.

Second, I could see a scenario where a talented guy like Ed Oliver falls due to concerns about his measurables. Oliver plays DT, which is a position the Vikings also need to address this offseason, either through bringing a guy like Sheldon Richardson back, or possibly in the draft. If you read Oliver's write up on WalterFootball http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2019DT.php, you will see why a guy like that could easily fall into the Vikings lap at #18. But watch his highlights on Youtube and you see a wrecking ball. This is a guy who has the potential to become an impact player on the inside along the lines of a John Randle. He simply gets after it and is very hard for offensive linemen to control. The WalterFootball evaluation mentions Warren Sapp as well. You can see this guy could become that kind of player.

Now, if the choice at #18 is between an offensive lineman who doesn't really stand out from other guys at the position, and a guy like Oliver that might become a regular pro bowler on the interior of the defensive line, can Spielman afford to pass on Oliver?

I know the gut reactions of a lot of fans that don't follow the draft closely would probably be outrage if Spielman passed on an OL, especially one like Ford who a lot of fans (myself included) like, but man, if Oliver is there at #18 and Spielman didn't take him, I could easily see him kicking himself for that decision for years.

The other thing that gives me some comfort is that because this OL class is pretty flat, it seems likely there would still be some very solid options on the board when the 2nd round pick comes along. That worked out for Spielman last year with O'Neil, and maybe we'll see something similar to that happen this year as well, with the Vikings taking an obvious BPA defensive player in the 1st, and then taking a solid OL prospect in the 2nd that they can then work into the starting lineup quickly.

I have similar thoughts. Taylor and Dillard are going to be the top OT prospects this year, and are both going to be gone before 18 I think. Most teams aren't going to take a Guard at 18 unless he's a Quinton Nelson type prospect. Its also early to take a second tier T. As you point out, the relative flatness and depth of solid Guards/Centers (and the lack of desperate need at T) could easily lead to the Vikings waiting until round 2 or even 3 before going OL. If they grab a starter at DT in the 1st, a starting MLB in the 2nd, and a starting caliber interior OL in the 3rd, it wouldn't shock me.

Having said all that, I won't be upset if they manage to get Dillard, McKoy and Lindstrom with their first three picks!